


perfect creature / rarely seen

by sidsknees



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Arranged Marriage, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Marriage of Convenience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 18:22:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19156450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidsknees/pseuds/sidsknees
Summary: It felt wrong for Sidney to go from wearing blood-soaked armor to bright, clean wedding garb.





	perfect creature / rarely seen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudCover (RainyForecast)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainyForecast/gifts).



It felt wrong for Sidney to go from wearing blood-soaked armor to bright, clean wedding garb. 

 

His brow was still damp with sweat as his attendants dressed him, chest heaving; he was clean of body, not clear of mind, the sounds of clanging swords and blazing fires still echoing in his ear. His head was tipped back to the ceiling, to the sky, and even though his eyes were closed, he could imagine the red dusk that was settling in- or, maybe the sky would be a different color, a deep purple, a sickly green. With the Fair Folk, you never knew. 

 

It was difficult to ignore, as he walked with his wedding party behind him, all still battle dressed and weary, that they were barely feet from where so many men had died barely even hours before. The sky was red, just as Sidney had thought it would be, but the closer they got to the Fae encampment, the more the sky shifted; red to violet, and eventually to a bright blue, vibrant and calm, as if it were the middle of a sunny spring day. 

 

The sight chilled Sidney to the bone. 

 

His hand itched for a sword, but he had none. He almost turned to Marc-Andre or Pascal, to ask for theirs, but remembered they would be in much the same state. A wedding was no place for weapons, and so they’d left them all behind. They could be walking into an ambush unarmed, for all they knew; all they had was the word of the Fae, and even if legend said that the word of the Fae was never broken, Sidney had seen them do so much damage that he figured he could be excused for not putting too much faith in legend. 

  
  


The deeper they went into the Feywild, the brighter and more springy the day became, and the tighter the knot in Sid’s stomach curled itself. There were flowers blooming around him, trees lush with leaves and ripe fruit, tempting more with each step. But, Sidney knew, one bite of the fruit, one step off of the toadstool lined path, and there would be no returning to his kingdom after- and, surely, no end of the war if the crown prince had been lost in the Feywild, so the danger was twofold. 

 

The party behind Sidney was so quiet as they entered the clearing at the end of the path that he had to look back to make sure that none of them had disappeared. He counted the dozen or so heads behind him- Fleury, Letang, Dupuis, Armstrong, Staal, with some of his own servants making up the end of his wedding party, some of the few healthy horses left on hand to carry back whatever belongings and dowry Sidney’s new spouse may bring along. 

 

In one moment, they were alone in the clearing, and then between one inhale and it’s release, there was a group standing in front of Sidney- a group of Fey, their dress told Sidney, headed up by a tall, sleepy eyed man. He was the only one of the bunch not smiling, but, he was the only one who didn’t make Sidney’s hair stand on end when he looked at them. 

 

There was a long, hanging silence before Sidney cleared his throat, and stepped forward. “I-” 

 

“Are prince,” the non smiling Fey said, though there was kindness in his tone- and, something else that Sidney couldn’t place- the sound of his voice made something cold run down Sidney’s spine. Instinct kicking in, he supposed; when Fey spoke, bad things tended to follow. “May I have name?” 

 

“You can call me Sidney.” Sidney had to fight not to spit the words, once he was able to get the words out at all; stupid. He’d been fighting since he was old enough to hold a sword, but he couldn’t even speak at his own wedding. “But, my name is not yours to have.” 

 

The Fey grimaced. “Sorry,” he said- and, Sidney had never heard of the Fey apologizing before. “Old habits.” 

 

“The ceremony,” a tall Fey- similar of face, but much more fair haired than the one that had spoken said. “You’ll want to leave before the sky goes red, if you’re planning on leaving at all.” 

 

“We are,” Kristopher said, and Sidney could hear the barred teeth and clenched fists in his tone without even turning around. 

 

“Then, we should get started,” Sidney says. It’s the first thing he’s said since he got the news and assembled his troops- his wedding party. 

 

The fair haired fae nodded, and turned to the first one who had spoken, saying something to him in the Fey tongue. Sidney tried not to let that make him feel any more anxious than he already did.

 

He’d been the one to accept their offer, and an offer made with the fae wasn’t to be taken lightly. 

 

Between one blink and the next, the meadow they were in had melted away, and they were, instead, in a grove surrounded by flowering trees, petals falling in slow motion. In the center, was a small pond with a large runestone in the center. To Sidney, it seemed as if the stone were humming- no,  _ beating _ . 

 

“Your highness.” 

 

His gaze is snapped to the sleepy-eyed fae, who had reached out his hand. “Unless you’d like to keep me waiting,” he said. He obviously meant it to be light and airy, but, there was something in his tone that kept the jest from landing.

 

The fae was  _ nervous _ , and there was a pang in his chest from even that small admission that rocked him more than a bit. He had never known a fae to be nervous, not in the face of sword or arrow, not in the face of certain doom.

 

But, this one was nervous to  _ take his hand _ . 

 

Sidney smiled at him, and bridged the gap. “Of course not,” he said, even as he had to bite his tongue to keep from saying  _ everything will be alright, I mean you no harm _ .

 

Meaning no harm. To a  _ fae _ . This man could tear Sidney apart with his teeth, and here he was, worried about his well being. 

 

They approached the rune stone hand in hand, and the fair-haired fae began to speak, tone low and even. Not a threat, but Sidney was sure that if he turned his head to look, all of his men would be on edge all the same.  _ He  _ should, too, but the closer he got to the beating stone heart in the center of the pool, he couldn’t feel anything but the drumming of it in his head. 

 

He reached out without thinking, and their hands touched the stone in the same moment. 

  
  


Sidney felt his body go weak in the same moment his mind was flying, flung backwards and forwards in the same moment; in the past, he could see himself and another figure- sleepy eyed and smiling, a younger version of the fae he stood with now in the grotto. In less than a moment, he saw- felt- him grow, live,  _ breathe _ \- saw his family, his friends.

 

Saw the battlefield through his eyes, Sidney’s own friends turned to enemies through the shift in view.

 

And, in less than another flash, he felt himself rocketing forward; this much less clear, but no less poignant, flashes of feeling. Joy, anguish. 

 

Love, love, overwhelming love. Brushes of hand on hand, on face, on skin that sent shiver down Sidney’s spine- was it even his spine? He couldn’t be sure what was him, where he began and the fae ended.

 

_ Evgeni _ . 

 

The name was a voiceless whisper, a breeze; no one spoke it, but Sidney knew it, and knew it to be true all the same. 

 

“Evgeni.” He spoke it when he returned to himself, first to himself, and then turning to the fae beside him, who seemed to be going through the same aftershocks. “Evgeni.” 

 

“My name is yours,” Evgeni said, and Sidney wasn’t sure what to make of the sudden drop in octave of his voice, but it sent another shiver down his spine, this one heated like a summer evening. 

 

“You should go.” 

 

The voice of the fair-haired fae seemed to jolt both of them from their moment, and starkly reminded Sidney that they were not alone. He spared a glance to his men, his friends, and the looks he found there were of concern and fear- fear. 

 

They were in enemy territory still, of course. 

 

“The red will come, soon,” the fair haired fae said. “Normally, there would be more festivity- but.”

 

“Time,” Evgeni said, and there was sorrow there, now, heat of before forgotten.  “We will go.” 

 

“Do you- have any goodbyes to say?” Sidney fights the urge, fights the urge to say ‘we can stay a bit longer’, because that’s exactly what this land wants from you. To stay forever, dance forever, eat forever. 

 

Evgeni’s gaze flashed to the fair haired fae for a moment, who shook his head. “No,” he said. “No. No one here for me.” 

 

Sidney had seen the fair haired fae in the flash of memory.  _ Brother _ , he remembered dream-Evgeni calling in fae tongue.  _ Brother! _

 

He didn’t press the issue. He just squeezed Evgeni’s hand, once, and moved from the stone. 

  
  


In another instant, they were back in the field they’d begun in, and the party of fae had disappeared. Only his men, Sidney, and Evgeni remained. The only thing that had changed was, now, the backs of their horses were laden with chests- Evgeni’s dowry, Sidney figured. 

 

Evgeni sent one glance filled with longing back at the green behind him before they started to move onward, and out. 

 

No one spoke, until they had left the land of the fae, and exited once more into the woods where they’d set up camp once news of surrender came. It was darker than the woods of the fae, and seemed much less friendly to Sidney than it had in  the afternoon. 

 

“How long it’s take,” Evgeni said; his voice was croaking like he hadn’t used it in years. “To get from here, to your land?” 

 

“A few days.” Marc Andre answered for Sidney. He sounded  _ relieved,  _ and the rest of the men around them felt it. This was it, then; the end of it all, the war they’d been fighting since they were old enough to be sent away to fight it. 

 

“We’ll rest here, tonight,” Sidney said. “And start off in the morning.” 

 

There was a hummed agreement, and a few glances spared to Sidney and Evgeni as they all parted ways; no jeering victory songs, no jokes, nothing.

 

The war had ended, and all were too tired to cheer. 

 

The sounds of an owl, the first of the evening, echoed. 

 

“I- suppose you’ll be sleeping with me,” Sidney said, suddenly  _ starkly  _ reminded that he was a married man, now- something he had never thought to consider, in all this. 

 

Married. To a prince of the Feywild. 

 

“Suppose.” The smile that that brough to Evgeni’s face was mirthful; teasing, but not hurtful. “Could just sleep outside. I’m not mind.” 

 

“Of course not,” Sidney said. Did the fae sleep outside, normally? He had no idea. There was very little he knew about the fae  and their world that didn’t have direct applications to battle. “It’s- there’s room for two.” 

 

Evgeni dipped his head in what Sidney took as a nod, and Sidney turned his back on him to lead them both to his makeshift quarters- and, so that he could pull himself together somewhat. 

 

The war was over. He was married to a stranger, a man who would have been an enemy even just this morning. 

 

Breathe. Inhale, exhale. 

 

Evgeni had, in fact, followed him when he moved. He seemed somewhere between awed and confused, looking at everything around him- and, looking at him in contrast to his obviously human surroundings made it very clear why. Sidney’s belongings were dark, heavy; wood, velvet, heavy fabrics in deep purples and red, whereas almost everything about Evgeni was light: the pink of his lips, the greens and blues of his clothes, his pale skin. 

  
He didn’t belong here; he belonged in the bright of the Feywild- but, he was here, now, and Sidney resolved to do his best to make that worth  _ something _ . 

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to almost exclusively Hozier to write this, and I hope you enjoy!!


End file.
